It's A Forever Thing
by msashleyrenee
Summary: They surrendered, but how long will it take for them to find their way back to each other? A Post-Finale Finchel Fic. Rated M for possible future chapter endeavors.


R

"I'm not getting married." The whispered words pressed into the glass of the window, just like the tear stained skin of her right cheek. "He doesn't want to marry me."

She ignored the familiar vibration of her iPhone as she watched the trees blur together, the train was barreling to the east coast after all. She wouldn't check it. Checking it only resulted in uncontrollable crying for the first three hours of the train ride. She was sure Finn just wanted to make her understand the motives behind his actions. And while she could appreciate his conviction and persistence, she couldn't understand. She couldn't wrap her head around the fact that this afternoon he placed her on a train instead of a ring on her finger.

Her heart ached, more than her head ached from crying. She could feel the tears pooling in the corners of her eyes again. How could he do this to her? How could he just abandon her? She couldn't do this without him. She didn't want New York without him. She needed him. She needed them. He was her home.

Her phone vibrated in long tones indicating he was calling now. Without glancing down she pressed her finger to ignore the call. Her eyes fluttered closed as she let out a deep breath. Her thumb absentmindedly toyed with the ring on her left hand as she tried to relax into the seat. She imagined her body molding into the seat, imagined disappearing, imagined being anyone but her. Anyone but Rachel Berry. Anyone that Finn would want to marry. She slowly drifted into sleep.

F

"You're not getting married." Puck came up behind him as Finn stared down the empty train tracks in the direction of New York. His arm gripped Finn's shoulder, Puck's attempt at reassurance. "You okay?"

"No." Finn shrugged him off and turned, walking away from Puck and away from New York. God damn New York. He started to run. He ran past Mr. Schue, past Tina, past Artie, Santana, and Brittany. He ran past everyone, locking eyes with Quinn before ignoring their calls to him and running from the train station. He ran past his truck, and down the sidewalk. After a few minutes he shed his suit jacket to the ground, running away from it without looking back. He didn't know where he was running to, but he was just running. He shed his shirt when the heat became too uncomfortable, leaving it on the ground like the jacket.

Eventually he arrived at the church and just stood there looking at it. He was supposed to be getting married today. He was supposed to be marrying Rachel Berry today. They were supposed to be starting their happily ever after tonight. He was supposed to be with her. He pulled out his phone to text her, to tell her he loved her, to tell her he didn't want her to hate him.

He collapsed to the grass and willed her to text him back, to respond. But she wouldn't, and he'd wait. He watched the sun set over the church and when the darkness coated over him he laid back staring at the stars. The familiar sound of his truck filled his ears, but he didn't move. He heard the door close and the sound of two small heels hitting the pavement.

He felt her eyes on him but stared up at the sky anyway. She didn't say anything and he heard the sound of her smoothing her dress, like Rachel used to do all the time, before she moved to lay next to him. Her blonde hair fanned underneath her head, and rested next to him. After a few minutes she slid her hand to grip his.

"You did the right thing." Quinn's soft voice was loud against the silence.

"Really? Cause not being with her doesn't feel right." It felt like his throat was closing and his world was falling apart.

Quinn turned to face him, "Finn." He didn't respond or move. "Finn." Her voice had more power and his head shifted to look at her. "What you did. What you did for her... I would kill to have someone love me the way you love her. You two, what you have, its the real thing. It's a forever thing."

"My heart hurts." Her hand tenderly wiped a tear from his cheek, "I'm being such a girl, God. Please stop listening to me right now."

"I'm here for you. I'm here to help you get through this. I'm not going anywhere." She told him softly and his eyebrows arched. She giggled and put her hands up in a truce. "No ulterior motives I swear."

His lopsided grin emerged and he nodded, "Thanks."

R

Her phone vibrating woke Rachel up. Her eyes felt heavy and swollen from crying. She looked at her phone and instinctively answered it.

"Hi Kurt." She yawned and stretched her legs in the seat.

"Hi Rachel, just checking in on you." His voice was timid and she wondered how long her best friend knew her fiancé wasn't even going to take her to the alter to leave her there.

"I'm okay. Confused, but for the current circumstances I guess I'm okay."

"Have you talked to him?"

"No. You?" She tried to keep the interest in her voice minimal.

"No he hasn't come home yet. We don't really know where he is, he disappeared after your train left."

"What does that even mean Kurt? I'm really tired, so please stop being cryptic." Rachel squeezed her temples.

"He ran off when your train left. Literally, ran. He didn't even take his truck. He hasn't come back yet. I was going to go after him in his truck to find him, but Quinn said she'd do it." Rachel could practically feel Kurt wincing at his last statement, but it didn't bother her. She was actually surprised at the lack of jealousy that normally burned in her stomach when Quinn's name was linked with Finn.

"Well, I haven't talked to him. Just let me know when he wanders home and I'll let you know if I talk to him."

"Okay, love you Rachel." She felt a smile forming at her lips.

"Love you too."

She listened to the click on the other line and placed the phone in her lap. She wouldn't worry about Finn right now. She needed to worry about her own broken heart. Who did he think he was anyway? Telling her that she _had_ to go to New York. Who did he think he was joining the _army_ because he _knew_ she wouldn't follow him there. How did he think he could do this t_o_ her? He made these decisions without consulting her. They were _supposed_ to be a team. He wasn't listening to her, he wasn't thinking about what she wanted. He was doing what he _thought _was what she needed. What he didn't know was that all she needed was _him_. He was her _home_ and now she was lost.

She turned back to the window and let her mind slip back to the past. Back to when he hadn't broken her heart... again. Back to when everything wasn't falling apart. She could feel his hands on her waist and blushed thinking about the after-prom party they had at Santana's. She could feel his lips on her neck and his hands scraping at her back. Her blush deepened when she remembered how he commanded her to keep the crown on... all. night. long. She was lucky Tina covered for her and said she slept at her house, because in reality her and Finn fell asleep in his room after the party broke up.

She huffed, frustratedly, at the way he could work her up even after what he did this afternoon. She crossed her arms over her chest and forced herself to look out the window instead of at her phone's messages. How was she going to get through this? How was she going to recover from this? She realized in that moment: she wouldn't. She would never love anyone like she loved Finn. He was her soulmate. She was stupid earlier, of course she was one hundred percent sure. He was _it_ for her. It was time she _surrendered_ to it.

F

"I can't believe I did that." They had been laying outside of the church for hours.

"Do you regret it?" Her voice was kind and ernest, it seemed like Quinn was honestly trying to help him. Why else would she be laying outside of the church with him for hours listening to him babble.

"We should be leaving for our honeymoon right now, so yeah, a part of me regrets it." He sighed, it was easy to picture Rachel in a beautiful white dress running out of the church holding his hand and kissing him. It was easy to imagine calling her Mrs. Hudson and pulling her into his side while she smiled like he hung the moon. But it was also easy to picture her sobbing uncontrollably in his truck, so lost, so confused. It's ironic how much happier she would have been if he had taken the easy way out.

"Do you regret letting her go? Or not marrying her before you did?"

Finn rubbed his face. "She just cried, so much. I wish I had married her. What if she finds someone else out there?"

"You can always marry her. And of course she cried, you pretty much blind-sided her. It was completely self-less on your part Finn and I'm so proud of you for that but she probably doesn't see it that way. She won't find someone else Finn, it's a forever thing, remember?"

"I just feel like I didn't get to make her understand. She doesn't know where I'm coming from. I don't want her to be confused. I don't want her to think I broke up with her."

"So tell her." Quinn said matter-of-factly.

"I've tried. She won't answer my texts."

"So show her." She replied with the same diction.

"How in the hell am I supposed to do that?"

"Go to New York, Finn, and make her listen to you. Fight for her. Because if I know anything about her, she sure as hell is going to fight for you."

Finn nodded and was silent for a few minutes. He could go out there to talk to her. He wouldn't be holding her back if he just went to explain himself. He could explain to her what he was thinking and how he felt. He could do that.

"Take me to the train station?" He looked over to see that Quinn was gone.

Her voice called back from inside his truck dangling his spare key, "One step ahead of you, Hudson."


End file.
